Military Times: Military Service a factor in mass casualty attacks

 

 (NO)

Thank you for your service?

"Domestic extremists who plot or commit mass killings often share characteristics, like mental health problems and criminal histories. But the most common thread is a record of military service, according to new analysis of three decades of attacks inside the U.S.

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, known as START, analyzed thousands of cases of extremist-driven crimes from 1990 through 2022, and found that a military background is the single strongest predictor of whether a perpetrator committed or planned a mass casualty attack – and their military training made them twice as deadly, according to research first made available to Military Times."

“We thought having a criminal history or undiagnosed mental illness were the things that would come out as distinguishing the mass casualty offenders. Those matter, but the thing that came out as being the most significant predictor was having a military background,” said Michael Jensen, a senior researcher at START. “That was surprising and alarming and runs counter to what decades of criminological research would have you believe about who’s most likely to engage in this type of activity.”

Military Times article HERE.

Trump coming to Alabama

 (From a GOP News release)

 

The Alabama Republican Party is pleased to announce that President Donald J. Trump will be headlining an event for the ALGOP this summer. Logistics for Trump’s visit are already underway, and details for the upcoming dinner will be announced shortly.

"The Alabama Republican Party is excited to have President Trump joining us for an event this summer as he tours across the country talking about his vision for America. The people of Alabama and President Trump have a special relationship, and we’re pleased to be part of bringing him back to our state. This is going to be an exciting event, and we are looking forward to announcing full details soon,” said Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl.

Why I Am NOT and HAVE NOT been watching.....

 

 Succession & Ted Lasso.

Before those it was 

Mad Men and Game of Thrones.

A Community near Montgomery was Erased in 1931

      It has been almost a century since the town of Douglasville, Alabama ceased to be.

     Details about it were in a story by the Maxwell Air Force media team earlier this year, but I missed it.

"Douglassville was an independent, thriving African-American neighborhood with small farms, restaurants, stores, churches, and many community organizations. It remained a self-sustaining community until 1910, when the Wright brothers traveled to Montgomery looking for an area to set up an aviation school. This attracted aviation to Montgomery and eventually led to the formation of Maxwell."

“Maxwell needed more land to be a full-fledged aviation school, and Douglassville was located right in the middle of the existing Maxwell Field and additional plantation land that the government had purchased,” Ali explained. “In 1931, an eminent domain declaration spelled the end for the Douglassville community.”

1928 Maxwell Field

"This aerial image taken circa 1928 shows Maxwell Field on the left and the African-American community of Douglassville on the right. As Maxwell’s mission continued to grow during the 1920s, which necessitated the need for more land, the government, through the imminent domain process, acquired the town of Douglassville." (U.S. Air Force archival image)

 

 

 

Drug Makers Fight To Keep Prices for Seniors High

 

Medicare pays for more prescription drugs than just about any other entity...yet till now it has been blocked by a "protect big drug makers" law preventing them from demanding a discount for their big purchases. That changed when Congress approved a Biden law allowing Medicare to use their huge buying power to achieve reduced prices.

No big shock that Merck has now sued to keep their high prices for drugs used by Seniors, effectively blocking Medicare from demanding lower prices.(You can read Merck's scathing response to the law HERE.)

Santa Fe

 Published reports indicate a change in the redesigned made-in-Alabama model include replacing the "H" for Hundai on the center of the steering wheel with the Morse code symbol for that same letter...four dots in a row:

….

Morse code is oh so 1840's.😏

1st Alabama Capital Building dome now adorns a church

 Cahaba was established as the first permanent capital of the state in 1820. It remained so until 1826, when the capital was moved to Tuscaloosa.

A good page about Old Cahawba HERE.

(It wasn't exactly permanent there either!)

During that time a capitol building was constructed that was topped by a dome. Here's a sketch of the long gone structure:

The dome was saved and placed atop a church in Lowndsboro. Here are some photos I shot:

Reminder: Several of my photos are on display and for sale in the MMFA

 

At The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.

The Strike That Wasn't (At least in Alabama)

Gannett is the largest newspaper owner in the U.S....though here in Alabama they own only three papers, and as so far as I can tell none of them took part in the walkout scheduled for today. The Advertiser did not respond to my emails (great example for people their reporters want to interview, no?) Poynter has an excellent national story on where workers did take part. The Alabama Gannett papers:

• The Gadsden Times
• The Montgomery Advertiser
• The Tuscaloosa News
  

Selma

 

 

 

 

 DROVE the Montgomery to Selma path and return today. See some of the photos from my visit on my photo site: www.timlennox.photos

 

Two projects to make two Alabama railroad crossing safer are being funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Washington Post identifies the two crossings as being in Pelham, near Birmingham:

"Pelham, Ala., will use its $41.7 million grant to build a bridge over two crossings on County Road 52 in the heart of the city that officials say are frequently blocked, leaving first responders unable to access half the city."

The $570-Million in grants this year will improve safety at 400 crossings...a tiny per-centage of the nation's crossings.

Complicating the issue is the increasing lengths of trains on the tracks. The post reports there were:

"2,200 grade-crossing incidents resulted in 276 deaths and 800 injuries last year".

Alabama Not on USPS Dog Bite List

  

Alabama glad not to be on this USPS list!

City list (none in Ala) is HERE.

Top 10 Dog Bite States:

Top 10 Dog Bite States

State	2021	2022
CA	656	675
TX	368	404
NY	239	321
PA	281	313
OH	359	311
IL	226	245
FL	201	220
MI	244	206
MO	161	166
NC	126	146

Businesses Closing

 

A half-dozen Alabama branches of PNC bank will be closing in June....that's among 40 branches in all that will be gone.

Two of the Alabama branches are in Montgomery, one in the Normandale shopping center on Norman Bridge Road. That Center will be almost completely empty after that bank closing. The other local branch closing is on Eastern Boulevard at Woodmere Bvd.

Normandale was the first shopping centers in Alabama when it opened in 1955.

Forbes: State Ranking for Porch Piracy

Source HERE.

 State       Theft per 1k   Google Search per 1k Rank

Alabama

151.35

8.45

14

Recommended Reading

 BBC Headline:

Ukraine war: The mothers going to get their children back from Russia

HERE's the story.

Can this be a Senator OTHER THAN Tuberville?

 New Hampshire man jailed on charges of threatening U.S. Senator.

New Hampshire man charged with threat to kill U.S. senator over military promotions

• Updated: Jun. 04, 2023, 8:19 a.m.|
• Published: Jun. 04, 2023, 8:18 a.m.

By

• Ruth Serven Smith | rserven@al.com
• The Associated Press

A New Hampshire man has been charged with threatening to kill a U.S. senator because he was angry that the senator was “blocking military promotions,” federal prosecutors announced Friday.

Brian Landry, 66, of Franklin, is accused of calling and leaving a threatening voicemail at a district field office of a senator on May 17, according to court documents. Prosecutors did not name the senator in their complaint.

“Hey stupid, I’m a veteran sniper,” Mr. Landy said in the voice mail. “Unless you change your ways, I got my scope pointed in your direction and I’m coming to get you. You’re a dead man walking,” finishing with some expletives.

Landry later told investigators that he had called the senator’s office because he had heard on the news that the senator was “blocking military promotions,” according to court documents.

Landry admitted to federal investigators that he had called the senator’s office but did not recall exactly what he said, the U.S. attorney’s office said. It was not immediately known if he is being represented by an attorney.

If convicted, Landry faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The Most Ignored Political Ad requirement

 

"Any public communication made by a political committee—including communications that do not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified federal candidate or solicit a contribution—must display a disclaimer. Furthermore, disclaimers must also appear on political committees' internet websites that are available to the general public, and in certain email communications. Political committees must also include additional information on their solicitations."

"As explained on this page, in addition to the requirements for public communications, printed communications, radio, television (or any broadcast, cable or satellite transmission) and internet communications may have additional requirements.

Disclaimers must be “clear and conspicuous” regardless of the medium in which the communication is transmitted. A disclaimer is not clear and conspicuous if it is difficult to read or hear, or if its placement is easily overlooked."

 Source:

https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/advertising-and-disclaimers/

Elephants in Alabama?

Gomphotheres were among the most diverse proboscideans and spread to nearly every continent during their 20-million-year reign. (Merald Clark/ Florida Museum )

 

Several postings about the discovery of several predecessors of elephants being discovered just South of Alabama---in Levy County Florida, not far from Gainsville.

 HERE's on website to get you started on your online journey to study the elephant like creatures that roamed North America, at least in theory including current-day Alabama, some six million years ago:

 

Gomphotheres can be coarsely identified by their tusks, which have unique shapes, orientations and banding patterns that differ by group. (Illustrations by Pedro Toledo/ Florida Museum )

 

Another Confederate State Holiday

 Traffic in Montgomery will be a little less tomorrow (Monday)....state workers will be off because it is Jefferson Davis' Birthday.

 

 

Davis was elected Confederate President inside the Alabama Capitol Building, and sworn in at the top of the front steps. The spot is marked by a star.

Montgomery was capitol of the confederacy for only three months. It was then moved to Richmond.

There are several confederate holidays in Alabama:

Robert E. Lee's Birthday - Celebrated on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Confederate Memorial Day - Celebrated on the fourth Monday in April

Jefferson Davis' Birthday - Celebrated on the first Monday in June.

A bill was introduced in 2019 by State Rep. John Rogers to attempt to separate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Robert E. Lee’s Birthday. It failed to pass. Sign this petition to help end the combined holiday in Alabama in Mississippi.

*2021 Update: These holidays are still officially included in the State's Calendar. Contact state legislators to remove all confederate holidays from Alabama's Calendar.

 

earthshaking development

 "Amazon is working on a product that could turn out to be a game changer for Prime. The firm headed by CEO Andy Jassy is in negotiations with several telephone operators to offer mobile telephone services to U.S. Prime subscribers, according to Bloomberg News.

Those talks began eight weeks ago and are ongoing, reports the news outlet, and involve Verizon Communications  (VZ) - Get Free Report, T-Mobile US and Dish Network  (DISH) - Get Free Report. There have also been discussions with AT&T  (T) - Get Free Report, Bloomberg News said. No deal is imminent, but the outline of the negotiations indicates that Amazon wants to offer either free wireless to Prime subscribers or offer them a $10 package.

FULL STORY is HERE.

Will The Advertiser Take Part?

 From the "First Coast News" in Florida

"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Times-Union NewsGuild has announced plans to join the movement of nationwide strikes, starting on June 5, the day of Gannett's annual shareholder meeting. Hundreds of journalists are expected to take park in the strike, in newsrooms from California to New York. 

Journalists across the country are taking part in the strike to demand Gannett get serious about reinvesting in local news. This will be the largest collective action that Gannett employees have taken to date, according to the Times-Union NewsGuild press release."

 

The Montgomery Advertiser is a Gannett newspaper. I've sent the editor a question about employees joining the one day strike. I'll update this posting when, and if, there is a reply. 

 

The Advertiser is not included in a list a news guild members, but you never know. 

 UPDATE: NO response from several emails...to The Advertiser and to the union organizations.

Another Confed Name Going Away Today

 

 Raleigh, N.C. — Fort Bragg will shed its Confederate namesake to become Fort Liberty in a Friday ceremony that some veterans view as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members.

 

CBS has the story HERE.

TGFM---we're FOLLOWING Mississippi.

 

 "Other states, particularly Alabama, have adopted elements of Mississippi’s approach and have improved outcomes — but not nearly as much as Mississippi has. Perhaps that’s because those states’ leaders didn’t work as hard or because Alabama until recently didn’t have a must-pass third-grade reading test, but it’s also true that Mississippi has been guided by a visionary leadership team that may be difficult to recreate elsewhere."

 

From a NY Times article that starts by writing about our favorite fake praise of our neighbor to the West. 

"JACKSON, Miss. — The refrain across much of the Deep South for decades was “Thank God for Mississippi!” That’s because however abysmally Arkansas or Alabama might perform in national comparisons, they could still bet that they wouldn’t be the worst in America. That spot was often reserved for Mississippi.

So it’s extraordinary to travel across this state today and find something dazzling: It is lifting education outcomes and soaring in the national rankings."

 I HOPE the article will be well-read in the Alabama Department of Education! 

Full article HERE.

Not to be missed.

An AL.COM  editorial about Alabama's Coach (I mean Senator) Tuberville.

Read it HERE.

And a P.S. from me: where are the comments from Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl and Black GOP State Rep. Kenneth Paschal? And anyone else in state government? Can their silence be understood to be agreement.

UPDATE: Even Tuberville's brother is appalled!

"I’ll try and make this brief. As some of you know, my brother Tommy Tuberville is the senior U.S. Senator from the state of Alabama elected in 2021.

Due to recent statements by him promoting racial stereotypes, white nationalism and other various controversial topics, I feel compelled to distance myself from his ignorant, hateful rants. What I’m trying to say is that, I DO NOT agree with any of the vile rhetoric coming out of his mouth." 

Buy That Beach-house FAST or, on second thought...

 How's this for a nightmare headline:

Alabama’s Sea Level Has Risen Over 11” Since 1966

 Here's info on the gulf coast of Alabama and the rising sea level!

https://sealevelrise.org/states/alabama/

And a Washington Post story HERE.